Love Across the Years
by TheOncomingFanfic
Summary: The TARDIS lands in Camelot, and Clara and the Doctor meet and befriend King Arthur, and Merlin. Merlin falls in love with Clara, and Clara can't stop herself from falling for Merlin. Can a future between them really be possible?
1. The Day I Met You

'Where are we going?' Clara skipped round the TARDIS console to the Doctor's side.

'Well, I don't know,' the Doctor admitted.

'Ha, there's a shock,' Clara teased. It was true, though. Whenever the Doctor told her they were going somewhere, they usually ended up somewhere far away from there, and in danger.

'Oi,' the Doctor said, slapping her on the arm 'I mean, I set the controls to random, we could end up anywhere, anywhen, in the whole wide universe.' He grinned. 1000 years of space of time travel, this was what kept him going. Not knowing where or when he would end up. The TARDIS shook, making him and Clara cling to the console. 'Right, let's go' The Doctor began making his way to the door when Clara stood in his way.

'Are you crazy? We could be on planet of the psychotic murderers, or in the middle of a riot!' she told him.

'One way to find out,' the Time Lord grinned at Clara and pushed his way past her, out to wherever they were.

Merlin sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He was sick to death of hunting. Sitting on a horse watching Arthur fire arrows around, wasn't high up on his list of things he'd like to do. The sun was beating down on him and all he wanted to do was go back to bed. Even messing with Arthur had lost some of its novelty. He heard a noise from behind his, which startled him. He turned around to see a small rabbit run across the path.

'Aw, did the little rabbit frighten you, Merlin?' Arthur teased. Merlin laughed sarcastically and rolled his eyes. Come on, he thought, looking at the sky something happen.

'Get that, will you Merlin?' Arthur asked. Merlin sat up, not really paying attention.

'What?' he asked. Arthur sighed and rolled his eyes at him.

'The rabbit, I just shot, go get it,' Arthur ordered, in a slow voice you'd talk to an idiot in. Merlin sighed but jumped off his horse to get it. He walked off, muttering under his breath. He picked up the rabbit, which had an arrow in its stomach.

'Sorry little fella,' Merlin said to it. It was then he heard it. The sound was hard to explain. It sounded like someone breathing heavily. Or like an animal. His curiosity got the better of him, and he went off to look. He headed toward the sound, and he saw something he had never seen before in his life. It was a big blue box, big enough to hold a man or two. It had a strange thing on the top, something like a lantern. He walked closer to it, and he saw on one side there were doors, with a keyhole and a sign. There were windows on all four sides of the box, but they were all frosted over. As he walked around the box, he was sure he could hear voices. His instincts told him to head back, so he began to, but he heard the door open and ran behind a tree.

A young man came out first. He was dressed oddly. He wore a long coat, which stopped at his knee and brown trousers. He had a white shirt, and a peculiar jacket. It was short and tight looking, with a small chain on it. His hair was sticking up on one side, and he wore a bow around his neck. The man reached into the box and took out a young woman.

Merlin's breath caught in his throat. This girl was beautiful. She looked the same age as him, maybe younger. She wore a white dress, with a black collar and covered in small black things, which stopped just above her knee, and her sleeves went just past her shoulders. Her little black boots reached just over her ankle and seemed to have small gold studs along the bottom. Her legs were bare. Her dark brown hair, which seemed to glow in the sunlight, reached to her shoulders. She had big brown eyes, they sparkled and seemed full of childlike wonder. She had a warm, sunny smile that made Merlin feel as if his heart had melted. She was small and had a delicate frame.

'Hello,' the girl said, her voice was soft and beautiful. She was waving, and it took Merlin a moment to realise she was waving at him. He hadn't realised he'd been edging closer

'He-hello,' he waved back at her, then realised he was still holding the rabbit and quickly put it into his other hand, feeling stupid.

All he could hear was the sound of his own heart beating.

- The Doctor came out of the TARDIS and took in his surroundings. He was in a forest, on a bright sunny day. He reached into the TARDIS for Clara.

'It's OK, not planet of the psychos. Though we could go there,' the Doctor said to her, leading her out of the TARDIS by the hand.

'No thanks,' Clara laughed. She looked around. She was about to ask the Doctor where they were, when something caught her eye. Or rather, someone.

A boy, a bit older than her, was standing near them. Clara's heart seemed to pick up speed. This boy was beautiful. He wore brown trousers and brown boots, with a blue shirt with a brown jacket and a red neck scarf. He was tall, with soft looking black hair. His eyes were amazing, a shade of blue Clara didn't even know existed. His face was amazing, his cheekbones so perfect, Clara had a mad idea about walking over to touch them. He was flawless, Clara looked at him and thought there wouldn't be a thing she'd want to change about him.

'Hello,' Clara said, waving at him. Why did I just do that? she thought. The boy hesitated for a moment, as if he didn't know she was waving at him.

'Hello,' he said, his voice sounded deep and strong, and beautiful. He was waving at her with something in his hand, before smiling and putting whatever it was in his other hand, looking embarrassed.

All Clara could think was that she had never believed in love at first sight, until now.


	2. Dreams and Names

'Oh, hello!' the young man broke the silence. His voice sounded young and playful. 'How long w-were you there?'

'Just uh, a minute or so,' Merlin guessed.

'Ah, well, I'm the Doctor, and this,' he put his arm around the beautiful young girl 'is Clara.'

'Um, Doctor who?' Merlin asked, knowing he couldn't possibly be called the Doctor.

'No, just the Doctor,' Clara said 'what do we call you then?' The two went up to him.

'Oh, I'm-' Merlin was cut off by Arthur's voice

'Merlin!' he shouted. Blushing slightly, Merlin pointed to the direction of the voice.

'Yeah,' he chuckled.

'Merlin?' Clara looked at the Doctor, then back to him 'nice name.' Merlin looked at her, she seemed familiar. Where did he know her from? Arthur cut through his thoughts.

'Merlin,' he said 'honestly I tell you to go get a blooming rabbit and you take forever-' Arthur stopped when he saw the Doctor and Clara.

'Oh, yes hello,' the Doctor smiled 'see it's all been a bit of a mix-up. I'm the Doctor, and this is my friend Clara. You see, we're quite new to the area and your friend Merlin here was giving us directions. We're travellers, you see. And I would be proud of his community spirit and general helpfulness. Now, might I ask who you are?' Merlin was surprised at the lie the Doctor had just said to save him from a tongue lashing from Arthur.

'King Arthur Pendragon of Camelot,' he said, shaking hands with the Doctor 'Doctor who?'

'Just the Doctor, sorry, King Arthur? Of Camelot?' the Doctor asked, seeming delighted.

'Yes,' Arthur replied. The Doctor smiled at Clara and looked at her; she had a look of total excitement on her face.

'Oh good Lord, massive honour,' the Doctor said 'I've heard tons of stories about you; I-I-I never dreamt I'd actually meet you.'

'Yeah, it's amazing to meet you,' Clara said, smiling.

'What do we call you?' Clara asked the boy, walking up to him. As she saw him up close, she was struck by how familiar he looked. Had they met before?

'Oh I'm-' his was cut off by another voice.

'Merlin!' a man shouted. Blushing, the boy pointed to where the voice came from.

'Merlin?' Clara asked, she looked at the Doctor and then back to him. _Merlin's a story_ she thought. 'Nice name,' she said. A young man entered. He was tall and strong looking, with floppy blond hair and blue eyes. He was wearing brown trousers and black boots, with a blue shirt and brown sleeveless jacket.

'Merlin,' he said 'honestly I tell you to go get a blooming rabbit and you take forever-' he stopped and looked at the Doctor and Clara, looking slightly puzzled.

'Oh, yes hello,' the Doctor smiled 'see it's all been a bit of a mix-up. I'm the Doctor, and this is my friend Clara. You see, we're quite new to the area and your friend Merlin here was giving us directions. We're travellers, you see. And I would be proud of his community spirit and general helpfulness. Now, might I ask who you are?' Clara smiled, knowing the Doctor had lied, and the look on Merlin's face showed he was grateful.

The man came down and shook hands with the Doctor 'King Arthur Pendragon of Camelot' he introduced 'um, Doctor who?'

'Just the Doctor,' the Doctor said quickly 'sorry, King Arthur of Camelot?' They were excited and shocked, and if that was the legendary King Arthur; did that make Merlin the sorcerer?

'Yes,' Arthur replied. The Doctor and Clara looked at each other, more excited than ever.

'Oh good Lord, massive honour,' the Doctor said 'I've heard tons of stories about you; I-I-I never dreamt I'd actually meet you.'

'Yeah, it's amazing to meet you,' Clara said, smiling. Arthur smiled.

'Well, thank you,' he said 'Travellers, you say. Where are you headed?'

'Oh, well we don't actually know,' the Doctor admitted. He wanted more than anything to go to Camelot, be a part of the legend.

'Well, in that case. I quite like you, Doctor. Would you like to come back to Camelot with us?' Arthur asked. He didn't know why he was asking that, but something was telling him to. But he did like the Doctor; there was something about him that he was fascinated by.

The Doctor smiled and looked at Clara, who was as excited as a child in a sweetshop. 'Yes, I-I-I'd love to. Thank you so much!' the Doctor couldn't get the words out fast enough. Arthur smiled.

'Have you got supplies or-' Arthur asked

'Nope, just our good selves,' the Doctor said. Arthur started walking followed by the Doctor and Merlin.

'I just need to get something, I'll catch up,' Clara called. Merlin looked over his shoulder to see her disappear into the TARDIS. A few moments later, she came out with her red bag across her body. She smiled at Merlin, who seemed slightly confused, and put a finger to her lips. They walked together, trying to catch up with the Doctor and Arthur. She was surprised at how easy he was to talk to. Clara left out the details of time and space travel.

'So, you're his personal servant?' Clara asked.

'Yeah,' Merlin replied.

'Sounds nice,' she said.

'Yeah, until you start mucking out stables,' he joked. They laughed and, as she looked at him, it hit her. Where she had seen him before. In the dreams.

She had been having these dreams for months, but she had never paid much attention to them. She never told the Doctor about them. But they always had Merlin in them. They were together, lying under a tree, sitting by the water, running, holding hands. He had never spoken and he had never said his name, or if he did she never remembered. In the most recent dreams, she was holding onto him. She had never known why, but something was pulling her away from him. The harder she was pulled, the harder he held on. There was one thing she always remembered from that dream, one thing in her head when she woke up.

_I can't let him go._

_-_Merlin was excited that the Doctor was coming to Camelot, he didn't know why though. As he walked, he looked back at Clara, who had disappeared into the blue box. He wondered what that box was, or what it was for. A few moments later, Clara emerged with a red bag across her body. He was confused, and Clara put a finger to her lips and pulled him along, to catch up with the Doctor and Arthur. As they walked, they talked; Merlin was surprised at how easy Clara was to talk to. Just about their lives, but Merlin left out the details about magic.

'So, you're his personal servant?' Clara asked.

'Yeah,' Merlin replied.

'Sounds nice,' she said.

'Yeah, until you start mucking out stables,' he joked. Clara laughed, and looking at her, Merlin realised where he had seen her before. His dreams.

He had been having dreams almost every night for the past few months. He hadn't told Gaius about them, he thought they meant nothing. But she was always in them. She never spoke, nor ay her name. They were dancing, walking, hand in hand, lying under a tree, wrapped up in each other's arms. It was always different. He had been having a dream recently, the past few weeks, where he ran into the throne room to found Clara lying face down on the ground. He lifts her head and looks at her, she is pale and her eyes are dull, without sparkle. One thing he always remembered, sticking in his head after he woke.

_I can't lose her. _


	3. Do you believe

Merlin pushed another pile of horse poo away, still thinking about yesterday. The Doctor and Clara had come back to Camelot. They were going to stay in the palace for a while. He was happy about that, he thought. The Doctor was mysterious and interesting, he felt drawn to him. And Clara, he knew there was something about her. How could he have dreamt about her, for months and yet only have met just met her yesterday? Why did he feel like, when he looked at her, there was no one else in the world? He asked Gaius about premonitions.

'_What do you know about premonitions?' Merlin asked. It just slipped out. Gaius looked at him._

'_Well, they're dreams of the future,' he answered 'why?' Merlin shrugged._

'_No reason, just…' Merlin's voice trailed off._

'_Merlin,' Gaius asked 'what are you not telling me?'_

'_Nothing, really,' Merlin said._

Merlin shook off the thought and focused on one of his least favourite things, mucking out the stables, when he heard a voice from behind him. The voice that made his heart go a mile a minute, he'd only heard yesterday, but seemed to have known his whole life.

'Hey.'

Merlin turned to see Clara standing a few feet behind him, smiling. She was blushing, and her eyes didn't meet his. Clara came in closer.

'You weren't joking, this is really not nice,' she said.

Merlin chuckled 'Tell me about it.'

'Need help?' she asked, lightly.

'Oh, god no. I mean, I'm fine. And you're a guest; you shouldn't have to do anything. Arthur would kill me,' he replied 'why aren't you with the Doctor?'

'Bored,' Clara smiled 'he's off with Arthur doing god knows what. Thought I'd go for a look around. You sure you don't need help?'

'Yes,' Merlin assured her, but even so she picked up a spare rake and began raking up muck and other things. 'There's no stopping you is there?'

'Nope,' she chuckled. They kept working, until Clara tripped and Merlin caught her. She was in his arms, looking up at him

'I suppose we make a good team,' Clara said, as he helped her up.

'Yes,' Merlin agreed 'I think we do.'

-Their faces were just inches apart. Merlin's gorgeous face was just sitting in front of her. Clara couldn't help it. She did what she wanted to do from the minute she saw him. She leaned in, put her arms around the back of his head and kissed him.

She was amazed. She had kissed before but not like this. His lips were soft and gentle, his hands on her waist. She was standing on tiptoe to reach him. She ran her hand through his soft hair and then placed both her hands on his shoulders. She forgot about everything, the world, even the Doctor. She was kissing Merlin. She had never been happier. And the best part, he kissed her back.

-Merlin gasped, pulling away from Clara, he looked at her, feeling mixed emotions. On one hand, he was possibly the most happy he had been in his life. Something in the back of his mind was saying he had wanted to do this since he met her, maybe even since he started dreaming about her. On the other hand, if Arthur found out, he would be furious. Had Clara even wanted to kiss him? Or did he kiss her?

'Clara,' he gasped 'I am so, so sorry I-I don't know what came over me.'

'What came over you?' Clara asked 'What came over me? I kissed you. But-but you kissed back, didn't you?'

'I'm not sure,' Merlin babbled. Clara took him by the hand, looking into his blue eyes with her brown ones.

'Merlin, it's OK,' she reassured 'I wanted to kiss you. I'm sorry, I'm so so so sorry if I made you uncomfortable. But, I-I don't know I've just, ever since I started dreaming about you-'

'The dreams,' Merlin cut in 'You have them too?'

She nodded 'Every night'

'For months,' he took her head in his hands, making her look at him 'how come you never said anything?'

She sighed 'Merlin, look it's sort of complicated and I can't explain. But, I thought they were nothing.'

'So did I,' he said 'But, I, sort of, enjoyed it.' He admitted, blushing.

'What?' Clara asked.

'The kissing, well I thought, it was. Good.'

Clara smiled and took his hands. They looked into each other's eyes.

_Now what?_ Merlin thought.

- Clara walked through the dark hallway, quietly, trying not to make a sound. Moonlight streamed through the window, and she braved herself to keep on walking. She had left the Doctor behind, in the bed they were sharing (he had been too polite to ask for a second room) and prayed he wasn't going to wake up and find her. She had to do this. She was trying not to get lost, but this was a huge castle. She was trying to memorize a route all day. She felt a hand on her arm and, before she could react, she was pulled into a side corridor. She gasped, but felt breath in her hear, heard a familiar voice.

'It's me.' She grinned and in the darkness, could make out the outline shape of him, and in the dark, she stretched up, pulled his head down, and her lips touched his, just as insane and wonderful as the first time. When Merlin pulled away, he chuckled and put her arms around his waist.

'Clara, we're meant to be trying to work this out, not kiss in the dark,' he whispered in her ear. She chuckled. 'Seriously though, Clara. Do you think it was a coincidence?' Clara shook her head.

'Do you?' she asked him.

'No,' he replied, speaking softly into her ear.

'Merlin,' she asked 'do you believe in love at first sight?' She immediately regretted asking. Merlin looked at her.

'Why?' he looked puzzled for a moment. Clara stepped back, out of his arms looking him in the eye. A smile spread across his face. This time, he leaned in and kissed her, on the lips, then on her nose. He leaned over and whispered on tiny, three letter word in her ear.

'Yes.'


	4. I can't let go

Merlin smiled to himself has he woke up. He knew it was ages before he had to be up. One word rang in his mind.

_Clara._

There had been no dreams; he decided that may have been because they had met. All he knew, all he cared about, was that he had kissed her. And she kissed back. It was wonderful and scary and confusing and beautiful. And perfect. He loved everything about her, her smile, her laugh, her voice, the way she had to stretch up and he had to bend down when they kissed, and she laughed at his jokes. He smiled, closed his eyes and cherished those last moments of sleep.

'Hey,' Clara pulled the blanket over her head 'I'm asleep.' The Doctor woke her up by flicking her ear, something that she wasn't delighted with, seeing as she had spent last night with Merlin and just wanted to go to sleep.

'Clara,' the Doctor said to her 'I think we may have out stayed our welcome.' This shocked her awake and made her sit upright, but holding the covers over her chest, as she slept in her underwear.

'What?' she choked out 'I-I-I thought you liked being here, in the middle of the legend, you said.'

'Well, I do, but I don't want to be irritating and we've been here for a day. And what if we start meddling with history?'

'That's what we DO, nitwit,' Clara slapped him lightly on the shoulder. But she was serious. If they left, that would mean leaving Merlin. And she couldn't, not once she'd found him. 'One more day?'

The Doctor sighed and grinned at his companion.

'Oh, all right,' he agreed, watching a smile spread over Clara's face 'one day.'

Clara picked her dress up off the floor, white decorated with black birds. She had to tell Merlin, one day was all they had to work out the dreams. And all they had together.

Bored, Merlin made circles in the ground with the sword he had. He couldn't concentrate on Arthur; he just gave him the odd 'Yeah, great' when asked how he was doing in training.

'Are you OK,' Arthur asked him.

'Yeah, why wouldn't I be?' Merlin answered. Arthur was still looking at him strangely. But all he could think about was Clara, he couldn't stop. It was like breathing, he just found himself doing it. He felt a tap on his shoulder.

'Clara,' he said, turning around to meet her. She was more beautiful than she was in his mind, like she got more perfect every time he saw her.

'I have to talk to you,' she began 'I-I have one more day. The Doctor and I leave tomorrow. And that's all the time we have to work this out.' Merlin felt like a huge stone had been shoved on top of his heart and all the air had been shoved out of him. He felt stupid. How had he convinced himself it would last? He had pinned all his hope on her; he thought they would be together . Idiot.

'OK,' he couldn't look her in the eye.

'Merlin,' she sounded hurt. He dared to take one look at her, she looked broken. Crushed. He took a deep breath.

'Clara, I fell in love once,' he confessed 'and I lost her. So you're here, and you're a second chance, and I'm losing you. I can't-' he couldn't finish; Clara was staring into his eyes. She was about to speak, but she was cut off by something above them. They looked up and saw black smoke cover the sky and then disappear. It was accompanied by a sound Merlin had never heard. It was like someone dragging a key along a piece of metal.

'What was that?' Arthur asked. From over Clara's shoulder, Merlin saw the Doctor running up to them.

'Doctor,' Arthur came up to join them 'Clara, do you-'

'Um, yes,' the Doctor cut him off 'Clara we need to go.' The Doctor grabbed his companion and dragged her off, with her looking back at Merlin.

'Doctor!' Clara said 'what was that? What's up with you?'

'It was a spaceship Clara,' he replied 'and if I am not mistaken a very, very bad one. We need to get on it and.'

'OK, slow down,' Clara said 'what is it?

'If I am not mistaken,' the Doctor began, while still walking 'it's a Charlin ship. The Charlin were all destroyed in a war. They were clever, though. Clever and aggressive. Their spaceships were programmed to fly off to other worlds and destroy them. Once they did, the Charlin seal would be printed on what was left of the planet. It would be Charlin property. And that is why we have to stop it, because to power up, it needs a fuel cell. And a fuel cell is a living organism. The scanner cherry picks the best one and drags it in to use it. And, we're being followed.' The Doctor and Clara turned around to see Merlin duck behind a tree.

'Merlin!' Clara called. He stepped out and came up to them.

'What,' he asked 'are you talking about. I mean space ships and, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were talking about creatures from, not from this planet.' Clara bit her lip and looked at the Doctor. He was already walking off, looking for the ship. She turned and was about to talk to Merlin, tell him something, anything to get him to go back, when she was interrupted by the sound of the Doctor hitting his head on something.

'Oh, Jesus,' he complained. Merlin and Clara ran over to him. He stood up, pointed the sonic screwdriver at the air, and a ship appeared. It was sleek and black, like a rocket from the year 6000. Clara heard Merlin watch his breath. He looked at it in awe, like he wasn't sure what to say. He looked at Clara for help, and she simply smiled and nodded. The Doctor on the other hand was looking at the ship, for a way to get in.

'What?' Merlin asked.

'That it's um,' Clara tried to think 'a sort of, ship. From another world.' The door to the ship slid open, a white light coming out, seeming to shine on each of them. The Doctor looked at them, afraid.

'You two should go back,' he said, his voice serious, free of any youthful comic he normally had.

'Why,' Merlin asked, but the Doctor had his hands in their shoulders and was marching them along. Suddenly, Clara felt a grip on her waist. It was like a tight belt, and she was pulled back.

'Clara!' Merlin shouted and ran after her, the Doctor close behind. She was being pulled into the ship, he grabbed her wrist with both hands, tightly. She could see the concentration in his face. She pulled her hands forward and grabbed him around the wrist. Their eyes met. She remembered, this was the dream she had been having. It was happening now. She held onto him tightly. _I can't let go,_ she thought. But her hands were already slipping off him He tried to hold her, but he couldn't. Her arm slipped through his hand, he was holding her fingers. He dig his heels into the ground, determined not to let her go. Clara tried to bring her hand back to his, but it felt as if it was chained to something . Her fingers fall out of his hand and she was pulled into the ship, the door shut behind her.


	5. Are you coming?

Merlin breathed hard. He hoped it was all a dream and he would wake up. But he knew it wasn't. Clara had just been taken inside that, that ship, she had called it. None of it made any sense to him.

'Clara,' the Doctor yelled from behind him. He hadn't noticed that the Doctor had come up to his side. Full of anger and confusion, Merlin slammed his hand on the door where Clara had been taken moments ago. A burning pain spread across his hand, the door was red hot. He snatched his hand away.

'The door would have gone into defence,' the Doctor said, looking at him. He then took something out from his jacket, a small metal object. He pointed it at the door and it glowed green and made a strange noise.

'What's that?' Merlin asked.

'Sonic screwdriver,' the Doctor replied. Merlin nodded, as if a sonic screwdriver was an object he had seen every day.

'Merlin!' Arthur's angry voice called for him as the King came into where they were standing 'what do you think you were…' his voice trailed off when he saw the black ship in front of them 'What the hell is that?'

'Nothing you need to concern yourself with,' the Doctor said 'go back to Camelot and stay there.'

'No,' Merlin objected 'Clara's in there, she's in danger, isn't she?' The Doctor nodded at him. 'That's that then, I'm staying. Arthur, you can go back. I'm not.'

'Why?' Arthur and the Doctor asked simultaneously. He looked from one to the other, and sighed 'The Doctor needs help. Arthur, go do what you do best. Help the people, get them out of danger. I'm staying with him.' Arthur looked at him, his blue eyes searching his face, his expression a mixture of respect, anger and confusion. Arthur looked over Merlin's shoulder at the Doctor. He must have mouthed something at him, because Arthur shook his head, and grabbed him.

'Don't give me orders, Merlin,' he said and dragged him off. Merlin looked over his shoulder at the Doctor, and at the spaceship holding Clara prisoner.

_I'm not leaving her. She needs me _he thought _I can feel it._

Once Arthur and Merlin were out of sight, the Doctor broke into a run, holding out the sonic, directing him to the TARDIS. He couldn't get into the Charlin ship, but he could use the TARDIS to get in there, he had to get Clara out and shut down the ship before it destroyed the planet. Simple. He ran faster, until he found his trusty ship, he had moved it closer to Camelot for convenience the previous day. He put the key in the lock and turned it, when he heard a voice behind him.

'What is that box? You had it further away when we met,' Merlin said.

'I told you to go,' the Doctor said.

'And I told you I was staying,' Merlin replied 'Clara's in danger and I won't leave her. The planet's in danger too, you said. I want to help.'

'You can't.' The door to the TARDIS opened slightly, and the Doctor pushed it open.

'I can!' Merlin protested, following the Doctor into the TARDIS 'I can do a lot more than people give me credit for, OK? People think I'm just idiotic Merlin, Arthur's servant, bit of a laugh, but that's all I can do! But I am not an idiot and I-'

Merlin's voice broke off. It was-it was a box, on the outside. It looked like it could fit two people. But inside, it was, it could fit a hundred, a thousand. His mouth hung open, he breathed hard. He tried to choke out a word. The Doctor laughed, looking up from some kind of desk, covered with lights and things he had no hope of understanding. In the centre of the desk was a huge column, connected to the ceiling. It had glowing bars inside. Finally, Merlin could construct a sentence.

'It's bigger….in here…..it's bigger…on the inside….how? What is this?' He ran to the Doctor.

'The TARDIS,' the Doctor smiled 'it's my, uh, ship, my-my home.' The TARDIS shuddered, and the Doctor ran to the doors. He left and Merlin, after a slight hesitation, followed him. They were in a dark room, with red light illuminating the floor.

'We've-we've moved,' he said, amazed. The Doctor grabbed his arm and dragged him along. They turned a corner and, in the centre of the room, was a light red beam. In the middle of the beam, hovering in mid-air was Clara, eyes closed. The two ran to her, the Doctor placed his hands on the beam, and then took them back sharply. He winced; Merlin knew he had been hurt.

'How do we get her out?' Merlin asked, desperate for an answer, and an understanding of this world he was dragged into. The Doctor took the sonic screwdriver out again and began inspecting something that looked like a desk.

'Ah ha,' he said 'I can hack the security systems, Charlin were clever, Time Lords? Cleverer! Now I can get into this and get her out before it kills her.'

'Kills her!'

'I'm working on it, hush,' the Doctor did something Merlin couldn't see nor comprehend, and then the beam of light holding Clara disappeared and she fell to the ground. Merlin ran to her and took her in his arms, filling him with a relief; he thought he'd never feel her in his arms again.

'Get her out of here,' the Doctor ordered.

'What about you?' Merlin asked. Clara was coming round, he out his arm around her as he helped her up.

'I've got to disarm this ship, or the entire population of the planet dies.' Merlin nodded at him and ran off with Clara.

'Merlin,' she protested 'we can't leave him.'

'Clara,' he told her, placing a hand on her cheek 'you're in no state to do anything. I'll get you back to Camelot, and then I'll go after him. OK?'

'Merlin,' her grip tightened on his arm 'that, what happened to me, I dreamed about it.' Merlin looked into those big brown eyes. If her dream came true, could his? He brushed the thought aside and kept taking her. When they were close, Arthur appeared, looking angry.

'Merlin! You have got some serious explaining to do!' he shouted.

'Yes, I'm sure I do,' Merlin said 'just, get her to safety and I'll explain.' He handed Clara over to Arthur.

'Merlin!' Arthur began.

'Look,' Clara said 'Please, Arthur, the Doctor's in danger. Merlin's helping him. Please.' Arthur nodded at his servant. Clara looked at Merlin for a moment. She leaned in and kissed him. Even when faced with danger, kissing Clara felt like all Merlin wanted to do. They broke apart, and he looked into her eyes, as Arthur looked on open mouthed.

Arthur had no clue what to say. What he had just seen, that that thing in the woods, Clara kissed Merlin? How long had that been going on?

'You have questions,' Clara observed.

'Um, a few!' Arthur said 'that-that thing in the woods, what is it?'

'It's,' Clara said 'it's a, uh, ship. From, far away.'

'Alright,' Arthur tried to understand, 'I will pretend to understand. Now, you and Merlin?' A blush crept across the young woman's cheek, and a small smile appeared on her lips.

'We, uh, well. You know we um, we are,' she mumbled.

'Yes, yes. But, Merlin? Why?' Arthur asked.

'Because, it's complicated!' Clara answered.

'Do you. You know, love him?' Arthur asked, regretting immediately.

'Yeah. I love him.'

Merlin raced back to where the Doctor and the ship were.

'Doctor?' he called into it.

'Merlin?' the voice of the strange man called 'I'm in here.' Merlin warily entered the ship. He found the Doctor looking at some kind of table, covered with lights. 'I told you to bring her back!' The Doctor didn't look up.

'Arthur's bringing her back,' Merlin explained 'I told her I'd help you? How are you doing?' The Doctor looked over at him.

'Not good. I need your help,' he admitted 'I can't disarm the ship. I need a Charlin symbol to unlock the security, the sonic-'

'Wait,' Merlin held up his hand, the one which had burnt on the door. It had a symbol burnt onto his skin, five overlapping circles with the word _Charlant_ under it. The Doctor smiled.

'Yes,' the young man took Merlin's hand and placed it on the desk. The wall glowed light red, and the Doctor began doing something to the table.

'Got it!' he said triumphantly 'it's disarmed!'

'So the world, it won't, die?' Merlin asked.

'Yes, but, uh, the ship, will explode. Run!' The two men ran for it. Once they were out of the woods, the looked back to see a black shape flying into the sky.

'The ship,' the Doctor explained 'I programmed it to fly into the sky, just in case.' The ship exploded into a red and white cloud in the sky before disappearing completely. Merlin looked at the Doctor.

'Who are you?' he asked.

'Merlin I think what you should really focus on here is, you just saved the world'

'Hey,' Clara said, from behind Merlin. He was cleaning Arthur's room. She had rehearsed this conversation a thousand times in her head. He turned around, making her catch her breath and her heart flutter. _Dear God, he is beautiful, _she thought. She thought about what she had said to Arthur the other day. About how she loved him. And it was true. It was safe to say now, she loved him. It was confusing. What do you call the person you love, who you have kissed three times, who you dreamt about and you were pretty sure he loved you back? Could she call him her boyfriend? Did this century even have boyfriends, or did they do the whole meet, lunch, get married thing?

'Hey,' he replied in his beautiful voice.

'Um,' Clara felt awkward 'me and the Doctor, we were just leaving. And, well, we talked, me and him and, well. Do you, maybe, want to come? You see-'

'In the TARDIS?' Merlin asked 'I saw it, Clara.' Merlin came up to her; his magnificent eyes looked into hers. She remembered, his eyes were the first feature she noticed about him. 'Into space?'

'I know what you're thinking,' she began 'that you can't. That you belong here. That people would worry. But, we can travel in time, too.'

'Shut it,' he laughed.

'We can,' she told him.

'Serious,' he asked her. She nodded.

'You've seen the TARDIS and a Charlin ship, and you've seen it explode. Do you really have trouble with time travel?' A smile spread across Merlin's face. Clara held her breath. Would he choose her?

Merlin looked at Clara. And nodded. He believed her, about time travel. He wanted to see what the TARDIS was like, what travelling in it was like. More than anything, he wanted to be with Clara.

'Just,' he said, taking her hand 'let me sort something out. I'll ask Gaius. Well, I'll try.' He looked at Clara, and did what he wanted more than anything. Kissed her.

As the soft pressure of her lips returned his, in the back of Merlin's mind he could see it. A mad man, a box, new world and new times. And a girl. The girl. The girl he loved.


End file.
